Intrapancreatic accessory spleen mimicking pancreatic insulinoma with intrapancreatic metastasis in a cat

An 11-year-old neutered male Domestic Shorthair cat presented with a 3-month history of hypoglycemia, two episodes of seizure, and intermittent tick-like signs. Serum biochemistry revealed severe hypoglycemia associated with high insulin concentrations. Dynamic abdominal computed tomography (CT) indicated two pancreatic masses, which were enhanced most during the late arterial phase but had different degrees and variations of attenuation. Partial pancreatectomy was performed. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry confirmed that one mass was an insulinoma and the other was an ectopic splenic tissue, consistent with the differences in imaging findings. When an intrapancreatic lesion with hyper-attenuation on dynamic abdominal CT is detected, not only insulinoma or metastasis of malignancies but also intrapancreatic accessory spleen (IPAS) should be considered as differential diagnoses.     

Effect of nitrogen addition on DOC leaching and chemical exchanges on canopy leaves in Guangdong Province,China

The impact of nitrogen(N)deposition on dissolved organic carbon(DOC)fractions in throughfall is not well understood.We performed a laboratory experiment and compared DOC leaching from canopy leaves after dipping leaves in pure water(control)and NH4NO3 solution(N-treatment)for 18 h.Net changes of DOC,NH4^+,NO3^-,SO4^2-,K^+,Mg^2+,Ca^2+and H^+contents after dipping leaves were determined by comparing solutions with and without leaves.We recorded no differences of DOC leaching between control and N-treatment,implying that N deposition had minor impacts on canopy DOC production.This confirmed that previous experiments testing the effects of N addition on DOC dynamics without considering the effects of the canopy reaction successfully described the real situation.We also confirmed the previously-reported canopy exchange process in spite of a high background N deposition at our study site.N-treatment significantly increased base cation leaching,especially K^+,and the increase was positively correlated with foliar NH4?retention.Net leaching of H^+and SO4^2-was not affected by the N-treatment.     

Effective Synthesis and Antifouling Activity of Dolastatin 16 Derivatives

Some derivatives of dolastatin 16, a depsipeptide natural product first obtained from the sea hare Dolabella auricularia, were synthesized through second-generation synthesis of two unusual amino acids, dolaphenvaline and dolamethylleuine. The second-generation synthesis enabled derivatizations such as functionalization of the aromatic ring in dolaphenvaline. The derivatives of fragments and whole structures were evaluated for antifouling activity against the cypris larvae of Amphibalanus amphitrite. Small fragments inhibited the settlement of the cypris larvae at potent to moderate concentrations (EC₅₀ = 0.60-4.62 μg/mL), although dolastatin 16 with a substituent on the aromatic ring (24) was much less potent than dolastatin 16.     

Effects of bovine serum albumin and trehalose in semen diluents for improvement of frozen-thawed ram spermatozoa

In this study, two following experiments were performed to improve post-thaw motility and viability of frozen-thawed ram spermatozoa. We examined i) the effects of different concentrations of bovine serum albumin (0, 0.3, 1, 5, 10 and 15% BSA) in semen diluents lacking egg yolk and ii) the effects of four semen diluents, fructose (F: control) and trehalose (T) in semen diluents containing egg yolk, 15% BSA in semen diluents without egg yolk (BSA), and modified phosphate buffered saline (m-PBS). Frozen-thawed spermatozoa were examined for progressive sperm motility, viability, morphological abnormality, sperm tail swelling test, and sperm acrosome integrity. In Experiment 1, the rates of sperm motility immediately after thawing (0 h) were significantly (P<0.05) higher in the 10 and 15% BSA groups (55.0 +/- 2.9 and 58.3 +/- 6.7%, respectively) than in the positive control (F) group (41.7 +/- 4.4%). The rate of sperm viability in the negative control (0% BSA) group (80.2 +/- 3.3%) was significantly (P<0.05) lower than in the positive control (F) group (89.8 +/- 1.5%), but when compared with the F group, no significant differences were found among the 0.3, 1, 5, 10 and 15% BSA groups at 0 h. The rates of sperm morphological abnormality of the 10 and 15% BSA groups (6.5 +/- 1.3 and 6.3 +/- 1.1%, respectively) were significantly (P<0.05) lower at 0 h than that in the 1% BSA group (16.3 +/- 5.2%). In Experiment 2, T addition improved (P<0.05) the post-thaw motility compared with the F and BSA groups. Furthermore, at 3 and 6 h, the post-thaw motility of the T group (36.3 +/- 2.4 and 25.0 +/- 2.0%, respectively) was significantly (P<0.05) higher than in the BSA (26.3 +/- 2.4 and 18.8 +/- 1.3%, respectively) and F (28.8 +/- 3.8 and 18.8 +/- 2.4%, respectively) groups. The post-thaw sperm motility and viability in the m-PBS group were significantly (P<0.05) lower than those of the control (F), T, and BSA groups throughout all observation points. These results indicate that 10 and 15% BSA can be substituted for egg-yolk for ram semen diluent and that the addition of trehalose enhances motility and viability of ram spermatozoa after freezing and thawing.     

Changes of fructose concentrations in seminal plasma and glucose and testosterone concentrations in blood plasma in rams over the course of a year

The present study was performed to examine seasonal changes in the fructose concentrations of seminal plasma and glucose and testosterone concentrations of blood plasma over the course of a year (from November 2004 to November 2005) using 5 Suffolk rams. Osmolality of the seminal plasma was also measured. The fructose concentrations in the seminal plasma increased as the breeding season approached, with the maximum in October (179.8 mg/dl) and the minimum in May (6.9 mg/dl), although there were no significant differences during the year. Osmolality of the seminal plasma in February (304 mOsm) was significantly (P<0.05) lower than in January (325 mOsm), July (327 mOsm), and August (325 mOsm). It was also significantly (P<0.05) lower in November (308 mOsm) than in January and August. The blood plasma glucose concentration in October (79.3 mg/dl) was significantly (P<0.05) higher than in January and February (43.2 and 43.7 mg/dl, respectively). The blood plasma testosterone (T) concentrations were significantly (P<0.05) higher in September (8.5 ng/ml) and October (10.2 ng/ml) than in other months. The fructose concentrations in the seminal plasma appeared to be related to the glucose and T concentrations in the blood plasma. These results show that fructose concentrations in the seminal plasma and blood plasma glucose and T concentrations tended to increase during the breeding season, with the highest concentrations in October.     

Winter monsoon promotes the transport of Japanese temperate bass Lateolabrax japonicus eggs and larvae toward the innermost part of Tango Bay,the Sea of Japan

Northwesterly cold winds characteristic of the East Asian Winter Monsoon (EAWM) dictate winter climatic conditions over the Japanese Archipelago. Japanese temperate bass Lateolabrax japonicus is a commercially important coastal fish that spawns offshore in winter and uses shallow waters as nursery habitats. To investigate the effects of EAWM on the planktonic period of L. japonicus, eggs, larvae, and juveniles were quantitatively collected in Tango Bay on the Sea of Japan side in winter and spring from 2007 to 2017. Although eggs occurred close to the mouth of the bay, planktonic larvae occurred further inside as they developed. The horizontal distribution of planktonic larvae, combined with water velocity data obtained from mooring observations, indicated that planktonic larvae are transported south‐ to westward through Ekman current and an anticyclonic circulation, which are driven by northwesterly winds. To evaluate survival during the planktonic period in each year class, the abundance of benthic larvae/juveniles was divided by winter total landings of Lateolabrax spp. (proxy of the spawning stock size). This survival index exhibited a positive correlation with the northwesterly component of winter winds, and a negative correlation with winter air temperature (average from December to February, Spearman's correlation, p < .05). There was, however, no significant correlation with winter water temperature or winter freshwater discharge in the bay. We conclude that northwesterly cold winds of EAWM play a critical role in transporting L. japonicus eggs and larvae toward nursery habitats, specifically beaches and estuaries fringing the innermost part of Tango Bay.     

Upstream migration mechanisms of juvenile temperate sea bass <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lateolabrax japonicus</Emphasis> in the stratified Yura River estuary

Hydrographic conditions and distributions of juvenile temperate sea bass Lateolabrax japonicus were observed in early spring from 2009 to 2012 in the Yura River estuary, which is highly stratified due to its small tides and consequent seawater intrusion into the bottom layer of the river as a salt wedge. In all four studied years, the upstream expansion of their distribution coincided with the timing of the salt wedge intrusion from the lower to upper estuary, indicating that juvenile fish used salt wedge intrusions to ascend the estuary in early spring. However, juveniles sometimes remained in the nearshore area even when the salt wedge intrusion had already occurred, indicating that other triggers are also likely to be necessary. We therefore evaluated the effects of temperature on upstream migration behaviors. The relationship between the mean temperature they experienced from hatch until starting the ascent and mean age of each cohort at the upstream migration fitted with the law of effective cumulative temperature. Most cohorts ascended the river at an effective cumulative temperature of approximately 500 °C–days. This suggests that higher temperatures would lead to a shorter period prior to the upstream migration.     

Effects of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization on the ratio of activities of carbon-acquiring to nitrogen-acquiring enzymes in a primary lowland tropical rainforest in Borneo,Malaysia

ABSTRACT

Previous meta-analyses revealed that the ratio of activities of carbon (C)-acquiring enzyme to nitrogen (N)-acquiring enzymes in tropical forest ecosystems was nearly identical to those in other ecosystems, despite of the N-rich condition in tropical forests. This could be explained by microbes in tropical forest soils, which require a large amount of N to produce N-rich acid phosphatase (AP) for catalyzation of the organic form of phosphorus (P) and compensation for poor P availability in soils. Based on this idea, we hypothesized that experimental P fertilization would reduce the allocation to N-acquiring enzymes compared with that of C-acquiring enzymes, i.e. that it would increase the ratios of activities of β-1,4-glucosidase (BG) to β-1,4-acetylglucosaminidase (NAG) and leucine aminopeptidase (LAP). We tested this hypothesis using an experimental fertilization site with factorial N (100 kg ha^?1 yr^?1) and P (50 kg ha^?1 yr^?1) addition in a primary tropical lowland forest in Bornean Malaysia, where our earlier work demonstrated that P fertilization reduced AP activity. Contrary to our hypothesis, the BG:NAG and BG:(NAG + LAP) ratios were not altered by either N or P fertilizations. This result indicated that AP production was not a reason for the maintenance of a relatively high investment in N-acquiring enzyme at our study site. Rather, NAG and LAP production was likely driven by C acquisition, rather than N acquisition, as the target substrates contained C as well as N. This idea was supported by the fact that neither the BG:NAG ratio nor the BG:(NAG + LAP) ratio was elevated by N addition. We propose that the ratios of activities of BG to NAG and LAP do not necessarily indicate the ratio of C:N acquisition, at least in our N-rich tropical forest ecosystem.     

The profile of urinary lipid metabolites in healthy dogs

Polyunsaturated fatty acids, including arachidonic acid (AA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), are converted to hundreds of lipid mediators by cyclooxygenases (COX), lipoxygenases (LOX), and cytochrome P450 (CYP), or through non-enzymatic processes, and they reflect inflammatory states of the body. We comprehensively analyzed lipid metabolites in dog urine using a liquid chromatograph-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to describe their metabolic characteristics. We detected 31 AA-derived metabolites, four EPA-derived metabolites, and a DHA-derived metabolite in all urine samples. Among AA-derived metabolites, 15, 5, 3, and 8 were generated by COX, LOX, CYP, and non-enzymatic oxidation respectively. This study will be the first step to use profiles of urinary lipid metabolites for better understanding and diagnosis of canine diseases.